Update: I was unfortunately not aware of Shamus Young's severe criticism of Fallout 3 available here to link in the original piece and I regret that. It dovetails rather nicely with what I've written and it's much better executed than my piece. I strongly recommend anyone...

Seven years...man its been that long already? Seven long years this tournament has existed, and since then we have been graced with eight winners of different stripes in the Fighter Character Battle.

The best tournament on the internet is only going to get better, as we shall see.

Last year, we witnessed history in the making, as Lili from Tekken became the first female champion of the FCB, narrowly edging out Spinal from Killer Instinct in the final match, a match that ending in controversy for some, and elation for others.

Lili now joins seven champions, and is looking to repeat and become the first two time champion. The question now is if she can do it. Well, we will find out, because the rules have changed once more for the FCB this year.

Because the tournament format thus far has been tired yet true, I think it's time to mix it up a bit, and go full on Soccer scoring. Thats right, the fighters this year will be lumped into groups of eight in random lots, and fight each person in their group once before advancing to the next round!

Because of this, only 64 fighters will be able to participate this year (I could do 128 but 64 will probably be more doable in the end.) As always, the previous seven winners will be automatically participating in the tournament.

So here are the rules for nominations:

1. Some games that became fighter games or have fighter elements will not be eligible. Games like Marvel VS. Capcom, Fight Night, Dragonball Z, MK vs DC, Super Smash Bros, etc. that have licensed characters that are not from an original fighter game will not be allowed and if someone picks a combatant from the game, I will ask them to pick someone else. (I know i'm a pain with this rule, but the reason is to give the unknowns a shot over established characters who can sneak in, like Mario, Goku, Spiderman, and so on.

2. HOWEVER, original characters ARE ELIGIBLE, like Master Hand, for example. I am fairly lenient on this rule, so no worries here.

3. Some characters, like Ryu Hyuabasha, The Joker, Superman and others from MK vs DC, Yoda, The Apprentice and Vader from Soul Calibur, etc. Are also not eligible because they are not original fighter game characters. I am also including the Dynasty Warriors cast as well, since last year they snuck in and, while I did allow it, it was after a begrudging decision to do so.

4. Characters with more than one persona may be eligible. For example, Jin Kazama and his persona known as Devil Jin, are eligible to participate as separate characters.

5. No M.U.G.E.N custom characters are allowed to participate in the showdown. It defeats the purpose of a VS Fighter Character Tournament if we include them, as they are mostly in the same realm as Spiderman, Megaman, etc. So please do not nominate M.U.G.E.N characters.

6. TIES in the game will be resolved by a final vote by someone who has not voted in that round. For example, if Lien did not vote in a round that features Spiderman and Wolverine against each other, he may vote for the winner if it is tied. If he did vote in that round, he is not allowed to vote again. IF THERE IS NO VOTE AFTER TWO DAYS, NEXT VOTE WINS IT AGAIN.

7. A TOTAL of 64 characters will be eligible for this showdown. No more, no less. You guys will each nominate FOUR fighters of your choice. If a fighter was chosen I will ask you to nominate a new character.

The breakdown of the first round rules will be explained after the nomination process. Remember, this year you only get to nominate 4 fighters instead of 8.

And for the edification of those at home, here are your current Seven Champions

Ryu
Armor King
Killik
Sol Badguy
Tiger Jackson
Ky Kiske
Lili

To keep things even, I will be throwing in last years runner up in the eighth spot, SPINAL, to round out the group. Remember, you cannot nominate these eight fighters to the showdown. Other than that, enjoy guys and see you in a few days._________________